Preparation

I must have spent hundred of dollars over a fifteen-year period trying to find a CS tea I really liked. They all sound good on the box. Most of them smell okay, if not fab. But the taste never lives up to the smell. Two exceptions, both discontinued: Emperor’s Choice and Mandarin Spice. The MS needed an absurdly long steep to taste like anything — hello, tealight under the teapot — but once it got there, oh yum.

Preparation

Tastes a bit like kuchika, a bit like chicory, a bit like roasted mate. Properly prepared — 10-15 minutes of covered steeping — it delivers a decent diuertic action that can help any PMS bloat, and, despite its odd taste, this tisane does soothe. I’ve only ever tried it plain, no milk or sugar. Definitely a medicinal tea.

Weak, even after a long steep — stingy amount of leaves in the bag. Mildly diuertic, and the rooibos will help one re-balance, but hardly a serious detox. I’d suggest brewing up your favourite loose rooibos instead and knocking back a good potful.